Get bowled over with winter soup

It was a convergence of the soups recently, when two community organizations and a neighborhood group sent me information about their culinary events.

On Feb. 10, Ash Wednesday — that’s tomorrow, it’s the day for two Empty Bowl Luncheons in the metro-east. We can all help raise money to feed the hungry by raising our spoons: At two events in O’Fallon and Collinsville, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can buy a bowl of soup and the proceeds benefit local food pantries. Cost at both is $10.

At the O’Fallon Empty Bowl at the Katy Cavins Community Center, you will get a bowl of soup, water and bread served up by a wide variety of restaurants, local clubs and groups. Plus, you’ll go home with a hand-painted bowl designed by the O’Fallon Woman’s Club and other local groups.

It is a meager meal to help us remember those that are hungry, said Kathy Dice, one of the organizers. All the proceeds from the O’Fallon event will support the O’Fallon/ Shiloh Food Pantry.

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Collinsville’s Empty Bowl Luncheon has gotten to be a soup-er event and will be at the Gateway Center for the first time. Besides soup choices from about 35 donors, Derrick Keith of WIL-FM will be the master of ceremonies. There also will be entertainment by the Collinsville High School Show Choir and Jazz Band, a raffle for a gift basket worth $400, a 50-50 and a silent auction. You can also bring canned goods to help stock the Collinsville Food Pantry, which will benefit from the day’s event.

This is the sixth year for the O’Fallon Empty Bowl and the fourth year for the Collinsville event. The events are organized by the O’Fallon Woman’s Club and the Collinsville Woman’s Club, with generous donations by dozens of metro-east sponsors that help defray the costs involved in putting these fundraisers together. Spend your lunch money tomorrow philanthropically.

Also, thanks to the O’Fallon Woman’s Club for sending recipes to use here from the group’s cookbook.

Cheesy Potato Soup in a Bread Bowl

4 large Yukon Gold potatoes

10 tablespoons butter (1 stick plus 1/4 cup)

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

6 1/2 cups milk

10 slices American cheese, broken into pieces

3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

4 mini bread loaves, preferably sourdough

10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled, for garnish (optional)

Bake potatoes at 350 degrees for 65-75 minutes, or until tender; cool completely. Scoop out potatoes from skin so that they are a pulp-like consistency. They should be like chunks, not mashed.

Meanwhile, make the bread bowls. Carve out a circle from the center of each loaf, angling the knife so that you produce a cone shape. Carefully remove top from bread. Carve out additional room in the center of the loaf, if desired.

In a large saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add 6 cups milk, reserving the last 1/2 cup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for another minute. Whisk in cheeses and remaining milk, a little at a time. Remove from heat and stir in potatoes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roast tomatoes for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until the skins begin to darken and blister. Let tomatoes cool. Remove the skins, chop: reserve the pulp and all the juices.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic. Cover and cook 5-10 minutes, until soft, but not brown, stirring occasionally.